


Comforting Arms

by AgreedEquation



Series: Snapshots of a Love Affair [6]
Category: Cricket RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 16:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4026409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgreedEquation/pseuds/AgreedEquation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dale is still struggling with South Africa's loss in the world cup semi-final.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comforting Arms

Even though a few months had already passed, Dale was still struggling with the Proteas’ loss in the semi-final of the world cup. They did everything they could and it hadn’t been enough. At times he would watch the footage of some of the crucial moments over and over again, just to pinpoint the moment where they had gone wrong. He focused especially on that last over, which he had bowled.

“What are you doing?” Trent asked as he stepped out of the bathroom, his hair still damp from showering. He sat down on the bed, next to Dale.

Dale tried to close his laptop before Trent could see the screen but he had been too slow. “Nothing important,” he muttered quietly. This was something he didn’t want to discuss.

“It was dumb luck, you know,” Trent said, his eyes fixed on the screen. “It could have gone either way.”

Dale pushed the screen of his laptop down. “It wasn’t and you know it,” he replied. “I’m glad for you that you guys won that game, but you don’t know what it was like for us.”

“I don’t?” Trent asked, slightly taken aback. “We lost the final, how do you think that made me feel?”

“That was different.” Dale shook his head. “Let’s not talk about this.” He put his laptop away on the nightstand. There were only a few people who he would talk to about this and he wished he could include Trent in that small group of individuals, but he just couldn’t. How could he possibly talk about it with someone from the opposition? Even if it was someone he trusted, someone he felt he could talk to about everything else.

“You’re upset,” Trent stated, resting his hand on top of Dale’s. “You know I’m not just here to warm the bed.” He knew that in a couple months time they would be playing against each other again and it wouldn’t be easy, but he had hoped that they would be able to talk about it, get through it together.

Dale sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I know, but this is something I just can’t talk to you about. You weren’t part of _our_ team.”

“We should talk about this. Maybe not that particular match, but about the situation,” Trent said, subconsciously tracing his index finger up and down Dale’s arm. ”There will be days that we’ll be sharing a bed and a couple of hours later we’ll be playing against one another. Will you still be able to look at me if you guys lose against us? Or not pity me when you win?”

Dale looked Trent straight in the eyes. “Yes,” he replied, without hesitation. “I do not resent you for winning that game. It was your job to win and it will be your job to try and win many more matches. It’s what we do,” he went on. “The reason why I am upset has got nothing to do with you or anyone else from your team for that matter.” He took Trent’s hand in a firm grip. “It’s about what _I_ did, how _I_ performed that day. I will get over it but I need my teammates to help me with that, not someone from outside.”

Trent sent Dale a small smile and nodded. “Okay, I understand,” he said and then he shifted so he was lying on his back. This was good enough for now. “We don’t have to talk to make you feel better, you know,” he continued. “Just lay down with me and stop thinking about it.”

Dale rested his head on Trent’s chest and closed his eyes. He focused on the other man’s heartbeat to calm down. It didn’t take long until he drifted into sleep, Trent’s arms securely wrapped around him.


End file.
